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From: wetcw@pyuxa.UUCP (T C Wheeler)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: McDonald's (San Diego) Massacre
Message-ID: <898@pyuxa.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 20-Jul-84 10:52:19 EDT
Article-I.D.: pyuxa.898
Posted: Fri Jul 20 10:52:19 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 21-Jul-84 03:45:22 EDT
References: <859@pucc-h>
Organization: Bell Communications Research, Piscataway N.J.
Lines: 59

This line gets stabbed.

Just to set the tone, I do not belong to any gun totting organizations.
I do not advocate free distribution of any type of gun.  I do, however,
know that the NRA is dead set against the public getting their hands
on Uzi type submachine guns.  They are also in agreement with the Gun
Lobbyists (anti) that Saturday Night Specials be banned.  I do not
agree that the total banning of guns will halt the type of thing that
happened near San Diego.  The man was obviously a mental case.  People
seemed to have known this for years, yet nothing was said or done to
look into his problem.  His choice of weapons was whatever was at
hand and it could have been anything.  Unfortunatly, this human time
bomb had been allowed to purchase a Uzi and a .9mm pistol.  These
weapons have no business in the hands of normal people, much less
a known wierdo.  Had they not been in his possesion, however, I
have the feeling he would have found some other means to vent his
anger, much like a man did here in New Jersey when he deliberatly
drove his car, filled with 8 members of his family, head on into
18-wheeler at 60 mph.  

Before you start flaming, here is my position.  Handguns:  You should
have a damned good reason for having one, other than competition type
pistols, which are a long way from being your average handgun.  Ban
all Saturday Night Specials.  No sales, no manufacture, no import.
Severlly restrict the sale of the .9mm, 45 cal, magnums of all kinds,
and any of the other big handguns.  A test for mental competance should
accompany any sale as well as having a damned good reason.  Every
handgun should be registered.  

Rifles:  No rifle should be sold that can be converted to automatic
or semi-automatic use.  No weapon that is automatic should be sold
or even allowed to be used.  No true sportsman needs these type
weapons and true sportsmen do not use them.  Anyone selling or
using a Uzi type weapon should be strung up by their gonads and
feed lead shot till they expire.  No good use outside the military
has ever been recorded for these weapons.  

I am trying to keep to a middle ground here.  I want to balance the
the need to get the handguns and automatic weapons out of the hands
of those who would use them for the wrong purpose with the privlege
of ownership by responsible people.  There must be a middle ground
that will halt the stalemate that has developed over the past 20
years in this debate.  The strident cries of 'everyone should be able
to own a gun' to 'destroy all guns' has kept this debate locked
up for too long.  I don't know if I have established my position
very well, but I am willing to listen.  I have moved closer to the
middle in this controversy over the past ten years because I have
tried to listen to both sides of the question.  I have owned guns
over the years (no handguns), but now have none.  I can also
understand why some people are so adamant about destroying all
guns.  

Is there any further debate?  I know this has gone around before,
but now looks like as good a time as any to drag it out again.
The tragedy in California probably could not have been prevented
even if the nut had had no guns, but it might not have been so
devastatingly monstrous.  
T. C. Wheeler